


Pink Paint

by Patatarte



Series: The Cow Crew [18]
Category: cowchop, fakechop - Fandom
Genre: Gen, pink guy is here to mess up with the crew
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-11
Updated: 2017-09-11
Packaged: 2018-12-26 15:25:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12061770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Patatarte/pseuds/Patatarte
Summary: There's a guy who broke their security camera, threw a molotov cocktail and painted something in pink at the warehouse. It means troubles, lots of them.





	1. Double trouble

It was a sweet summer night, the Covvchop warehouse was empty, everyone sleeping quietly. It was 3 am when a car stopped at the fence of the quiet dog day care, the window rolled down and a thick smoke escaped the mouth of a man. His face was hidden behind a hood and he was checking the front of the business building.

A police car passes next to him with lights on and siren blasting but the man doesn’t move a bit. It’s a common thing here anyways and they’re busy with another fish. After another long minute, the man walks down to his car with a bottle and stops right where the security cam is.

He takes out a cigarette from his pocket and places it in his mouth without lighting it yet. No, he has to show his middle finger to the cam first, then shove a piece of fabric in the bottle he’s holding and finally gets the lighter.

First the molotov cocktail, then his cigarette. The man doesn’t care about the danger.

The bottle is thrown over the fence, crashing on the floor, creating a nice pattern of fire. The man looks at it for a second and crushes his cigarette on the camera lens before leaving.

_

At different locations in the big city, phones are blasting their alarms.

Asher wakes up annoyed, he looks at his phone and moves his hand to get his computer out of screensaver. Yeah, the cam is out of work, great. He hopes it’s not too bad because installing that shit was a real pain in the ass.

Somewhere else in the city, Brett almost bumps his head in his nightstand and grunts when he sees what’s the situation. His lovely company sighs and Brett gives an apology smile while leaving the room to call Asher and ask what’s going on.

He’s left on hold because Asher is already on the phone with Joe who is most invested in their business. Asher assures him that it’s nothing, yawning for the second time in two minutes.

“The fire can not damage anything, it’s in the middle of the parking lot. Yeah, only the cam might be in a bad shape.” Asher doesn’t talk about the guy on the footage. “Go back to sleep, Joe, we can take care of this. Seeya, man” Joe deserves a day off.

When the call is done, Asher received another message from James. He ignores it because he received three texts from him already, saying that he’s dressed and on his way to his car to check the warehouse. That’s a fast reaction, some people have too much energy in this world.

Trevor knocks at his door while his phone rings for the third time this night. Asher invites the man in while answering Brett, still laying in his bed, half asleep. The youngest is anxious because he doesn’t have an alarm on his phone yet but all the noise woke him up.

“Yeah Brett, I saw.” Asher makes a sign for Trevor to come closer and take a look at the computer where the masked guy is giving a middle finger. “I don’t know who he is. Yeah, I’ll look the car plate… Yeah, James is on his way… No Aleks said nothing, he probably turned the phone off again..Yeah”

Trevor plays the video on loop, he’s impressed by the guy on the screen. But he’s also a bit scared, they don’t need enemies in the criminal world, they are vicious and you don’t always know why they are against you.

“Yeah, we’ll stay here… Did Anna send you a text? Okay, it’s up to you. I’ll text you later.” He hangs up and looks at Trevor with tired eyes. “They can’t let us sleep.”

Trevor laughs and rubs his eyes. Asher loves complaining but he also likes being an important part of the crew, just not at night.

“I’ll make you coffee,” says Trevor, but he doesn’t move.

“I need something stronger. We still have the energy drinks ?” Asher feels himself drifting away already.

“I’ll look,” Trevor whispers, still not moving.

-

James arrives at the warehouse, parks his car and frowns. He takes his gun out of the glove compartment and walks to the fence. There’s pink paint on the sidewalk, it’s a stick figure and it means nothing to him but it’s too much of a coincidence for it to be right at the gate.

He takes his phone out of his pocket and calls Brett. The phone rings and James look around for anyone but he’s alone. The voicemail starts and James sighs, he hopes Brett is on his way here because he’s the one with legal knowledge anyways.

“Yeah yeah, after the signal…Hey, Brett! Are you coming because there’s new shit here and..” He stops.

A car comes slowly down the road, the driver’s window is down and the guy inside has a hood on his head. They look at each other for what seems to be a long time.

“Who the fuck ?!” is all James says before the gunfire happens.

The man in the car shoots his rifle, but he does not even seem to aim to kill. James lets himself fall on the ground, hoping his car will protect him. He really can’t poke his head out to fire back, too risky.  
“MY FUCKING CAR !” James yells because fuck he just repaired it!

Another car approaches and James feels like he’s going to die, he wishes he has explosives on him so he can take them down with him. To the Valhalla my friend! But to his surprise, the first car drives away quickly and the second one stops shooting, the tires screeching on the asphalt to a stop.

“JAMES !” It’s Brett, thanks to every god for Brett.

“Here !” James lifts his arm and shakes it.

“Are you okay ?!” The muscle man parks his car badly and runs out off it to check on his friend.

“No ! My car is a fucking mess !” James answers, laughing because he’s relieved to be alive right now.

“Okay, you are in one piece then.”

Brett helps him to get back on his feet and they both look at the pink paint on the sidewalk. After asking each other if they have any idea of what this is, Brett takes a picture and send it to Asher, more research for the hacker.

“Is Aleks sleeping ?” James says casually because they don’t really have anything to do right now.

“Yeah, he turned his phone off again.“

” What an asshole,“ Said James in anger.

"He’s carefree. Would love to do the same someday.”

Brett yawns and scratches his neck and that’s when James realizes the man has marks on it. He chuckles at first and, the big man doesn’t get it.

“You had company tonight, Brett? Was it good ?” He points to his neck and Brett sighs because, of course, James would make fun of this.

“Yeah, it was lovely until the fucking alarm ruined the mood !”

James laughs while typing the code to open the gate. The night will be long.

And it is! They have to call the police and assurance for the cars and shit, Brett is a respected man so it goes nicely but it’s still a long process and the night is sleepless, they have so many questions.

-

In the morning, Anna finds two sleepy men on the couch. Aleks is following her, he’s coming way earlier than his habit but he checked his phone when he went to the bathroom in the fresh morning (and still took his time to get prepared).

Asher is the third to come, he has bags under his eyes but he doesn’t look as bad as Trevor who’s following with heavy feet. He wakes Brett and James and says that the car was a stolen one, he has no real info on it.

The pink paint on the other hand…

Maybe it’s just a little shit trying to scare them because it’s the signature of a big name from another state AND another country. It’s a crew nobody has control on. It doesn’t make any sense for a big name to attack them like that.

Brett grunts, he has calls to make. Maybe those guys from Texas can help him, they are bigger than them after all. He asks Anna to take care of the paperwork and to welcome the repair man for the broken camera while he has to do that shit.

Things still have to work.

The CowCrew made a point to try not to make enemies, or to make sure to exterminate them quickly so that kind of shit does not happen. But really, if it’s the big name knocking at their door it’s a bit overkill.

This is a busy day and they are all going on low energy (even Aleks with his full night of sleep, that asshole). Joe is still on his day off and James has to follow his poor car to the garage. They even had to call their new guy, Jakob. He’s not a part of the crew (yet) but he’s a good help for the dog daycare and he’s already friend with most of them.

Asher is thankful for Jakob because today he doesn’t want to deal with the sun and the man joyfully accepted to spend the day on the patch of grass. Trevor and Aleks are in the shop, looking dead both inside and outside.

People come in and out, dogs are barking, the sun shines, just another nice day.

Until a guy comes in with a small white dog, he’s making a face and Trevor knows he has to be professional so he says nothing and asks if it’s the first time the man comes here. Aleks is behind him, playing Tetris on Brett’s computer, he’s not really ready to work yet.

The man takes the dog and puts it on the front desk. Trevor isn’t ready to deal with a shithead but he’s careful with the small animal. Suddenly the man changes his expression, he looks so normal and young but the smile he gives send a chill to Trevor’s spine.

“Hey, blondie. You got the wrong Miller, you know that ?” That voice is also different from the first he used, it’s like it’s two different people.

Aleks looks up and his eyes are wide. The man has a gun to Trevor’s face. They can’t move, can’t scream. Aleks hopes for the best, pray for anything but an execution.

“Also, that dog isn’t mine,” is all the man says before he opens a can of tear gas with his other hand and mouth.

The smoke is everywhere in the small shop in a second and Trevor feels like fainting when the man is gone, but his first instinct is to take the dog and runs into the back room. Aleks, on the other hand, trusts his Russian blood, he jumps over the desk as soon as he can, grabs the can and runs outside after that fucker. He throws the can on the street and runs but his vision is full of tears and he coughs, forced to stop way sooner than he thought.

He hears a car though, and the screeching noise can’t be anything but the guy driving away. He tries to take a breath, struggling.

“WHAT THE FUCK YOU WANT ?!” he yells as loud as he can.

The car stops next to him and he has nothing to defend himself, he’s crying and exposed and nobody is around to help. The mystery guy isn’t the one driving, but he holds out his hands to put a hood on Aleks’ face and pats his cheek before laughing.

“I want nothing from you, dude.”

And the car is gone, leaving Aleks in tears, angry and confused. He killed the Miller he has a contract on, he’s sure of it, he saw his fucking face! And last time he checked, it wasn’t anything related to a big crew either! What is going on?


	2. Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Planning a sleep-over and trying to ignore the rising tension

In the afternoon, everyone is at the warehouse. Thankfully no cops showed and their place is in an area where nobody truly cares about a bit of violence. But really, they have the chance of having a dog business, the animals can sense the tension and try their hardest to make things better.

They are all sitting on the grass patch, turned to the entrance of the warehouse so they can see anyone coming. Joe is back, for support and his own safety. Nobody feels safe anywhere but at the warehouse, together and armed. They all have guns (or knives, or both) in their waistband just in case.

Trevor is still holding the dog the guy brought earlier, it’s a both way reassurance really. Jakob is doing his hardest to make him crack a smile but the man stays silent and vague. The poor Jakob is still new here, but he knows too much now to just step back, it’s still a hell lot to take in for a starting point. Aleks is pissed as hell, stabbing the grass while listening to what Brett, Anna, and James are planning. Asher is still looking for information on his laptop and he keeps Joe updated on the situation.

Nobody will help the CowCrew, of course. They are “not that worthy” and the threat is “not real enough” either. It makes Brett truly angry and tired, but at the same time, he expected it. Suptic doesn’t answer, the Texans are useless right now and even old friends of Brett, the Funhaus, just laughed at them because they are “haunted by a lonely ghost”!

“We can still put traps around ?” James suggests, eager to put explosives on the gate since day one.

“No, James,” Brett doesn’t even look up at him but listening to Anna.

“And we should go home by pair or more, taking care of each other, GPS on” She offers, and Brett takes note on his phone, adding this idea to the list.

Suddenly the noise of grass being recently stabbed stops. A dog even pushes Aleks’ arm with his wet nose. The Russian wipes his skin mindlessly as he looks at the crew, that little group of people trying to keep it together.

“It’s not my fucking fault this time, right ?” he says, and they stop talking, full attention on him.

The Russian is angry about the guy taunting them, yes, but he’s still a little unsure of what Brett thinks of all of this. He values the man too much to be on his bad side again. Brett sighs loudly and puts his phone aside, forcing a smile. He’s not in the mood for a genuine one but he has a responsibility of being the crew’s mama.

“It seems like that guy relies on scare tactic, pressure. He took his time to know us, not only you, it would have happened anyways, I think.”

“Scare tactic ?” James is a bit too loud, making a dog jumps that he pets as an apology.

“I mean, the Molotov did little damage, it was in the middle of the parking lot. Same for the cam, same for when he shot at you, James. He could have killed you if he truly wanted to. Same goes for Trevor and Aleks, he had all the advantage but he just scared the shit out of us.”

That’s a theory. But it gives no clues about the reason behind.

“He’s trying to divide us ?” Joe has the nervous laugh again, it feels like he can’t just talk without laughing with various emotions.

“Maybe. We know nothing about the guy anyways,” Brett says the truth. The guy might be the real deal or just a jackass, they have no clue yet.

“But…” Aleks is still unsure “What if the affair with the Miller I killed was a setup? What if it was the first step and I started the whole shit ?”

Brett moves a bit and stretches out his arm, making Aleks flinch a little. The big man chuckles, whispering a “Not gonna hurt ya, don’t worry” before encircling the Russian’s neck with his arm in a sweeter embrace than expected by the rest of the crew.

“Buddy, I had no idea of who Miller was, but I saw the surfer-like dude we faced when we rescued you. I was about to put the crew on his case, so either way, we would have been in that affair. You were just…faster. Don’t beat yourself about it. Okay ?”

Aleks nods slowly, looking at him right in his eyes and meeting the trust of the elder one. A little pat on the Russian’s torso and Brett is back to business again. They all throw ideas but they’re not that great. Also, the fact that they can’t really close the dog daycare is a problem. They can’t hide, and maybe that guy isn’t alone after all.

“All I’m saying is that I’m a hundred percent ready to stay on the roof with a sniper rifle,” James says at a point like it’s not a big deal at all.

“James, the neighbors tolerate a lot of shit but that might be it for them if we do that, don’t you think ?” Brett doesn’t know how they survived all this time. Oh, yeah, because he managed that shit.

“Yeah okay. But we can stay here? I can go buy air mattresses with you and we all sleep here, there are bathrooms, a kitchen, we have everything here, and we can watch over ourselves and…” he’s counting on his hand.

Thanks James for some weirds idea and his capacity of making fun of a lot of delicate situations.

“I don’t think having everyone in the same place is a good idea,” Anna points out. “Even more if it’s here. We don’t really have that much way out ?” she is absolutely right, the patch of grass and the warehouse share the same entrance.

“I want to stay here with you guys.” and it’s the first thing Trevor said since he was threatened with a gun.

Brett feels like the day will never end. The CowCrew acts like scared children, come on they are better than that! But he still has a responsibility.

“Alright, who wants to stay here tonight? Raise your hand.” is what he says instead of a pep talk. Maybe tonight it’s what they need, tomorrow they’ll change the tactic.

Trevor is the first one to raise his hand, quickly followed by James and Joe, then Asher and Jakob. Brett looks at Anna and Aleks and the two are not convinced.

“One night, all together. It’s gonna be fun.” that fake ass smile again, Brett isn’t really into the idea too but he tries to convince the two last reluctant.

“Yeah, it’ll be fun !” James grabs Aleks and shakes him “Bonding and all, maybe we can do some BBQ, and teach everyone how to shoot properly !” He’s really the only one that looks really happy with the coming night, he even stands up. “Who comes with me? Trevor ?” he’s so excited that he’s already making a shopping list on his phone.

Trevor looks up and James has the shiniest expecting smile ever, the kind of smile you know that if you go against it’ll turn into disappointment and sadness, or yelling, or all at once.

“Come on, I’ll protect you,” James insists and it’s not always that he doesn’t dick around with security, and he’s truly effective when he wants.

Trevor stands and gives the little dog to Joe, knowing well the man will take care of it more than himself but hesitates to follow James. He turns around and looks at Jakob.

“Can Jakob come with us ?” Trevor doesn’t want them to be just two, but also need someone that is not too much on James’ side, to feel a bit safer.

“Sure, let’s go” James truly doesn’t care, his mind is probably full of food and air mattresses. Jakob stands up and goes with them, ready to act if the situation turns bad even if nobody knows what he can do.

“Alright, while they are gone, Aleks and Joe, you check all the ammunition we have. I want the list updated, I know it’s a weekly thing but I want it now. Anna and Asher, I..”

He stops when James comes back. The man looks like an excited puppy, it should not be allowed to be this age and have that look.

“Brett !” He makes a toothy smile “Can I buy a tent ?”

“James,” Brett answers, exasperated already “Why the fuck would you buy a tent ?”

“To sleep in it, on the grass patch !” He looks too amused by this.

“No, it’ll burn the grass and it’s stupid, we need the safety of the walls, it’s not a fucking camping.” He keeps his calm but his voice is still a higher volume than the calm Brett.

James makes a face and turns around, his voice can still be heard “I will buy one anyways.”

“JAMES !” Brett shouts, too late because the other man ran away. They see him in his car, all smile and waving while Trevor looks like his tortured-soul self and Jakob looks a bit confused.

“Alright…So,” Brett continues, not looking away from James’ car until it’s out of view “Anna and Asher, I want the area on the screen, detectors if we still have some, even mics, everything you can. And you are allowed to put a trap on the fence, impress me, I know you won’t blow this up like James wanted. I’ll stay in the shop and plan the evening. Let’s go.”

And with that, everyone goes to their duty. Little do they know that James’ car was followed.


	3. Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trevor, Jakob and James are buying stuff, and they meet someone that isn't welcome at all. Disaster happens.

“I love shopping,” says James, beaming while filling the shopping cart with too much stuff.

“Well, I don’t.” Trevor walks slowly behind, he looks like a scolded kid shopping with his mom. Jakob for his part looks like he’s just chilling, looking around.

“Come on, Trevor, you have to get over it” James explains with wide gesture in a deserted aisle, he’s not talking about shopping anymore. “I’ve been at gunpoint so much I don’t even notice anymore !" 

"That’s not a good thing, you know ?” Trevor cringes, he can feel his stomach turning ill again.

“I mean, it’s what we do best, right? Might as well just…live with it.” It’s strange for a man to say that while holding cute bear shaped cookies in hands. “You’ll see.”

Yeah, James is an “out of the situation” kind of guy, but it seems like he always was. They’re not all like that. Brett once told them he was scared shitless before, when he was on his own. A dark time for their leader who only admitted it when he was drunk. Aleks went into a lot of life threatening situations as well, but the guy seemed to turn into an unstable alchemist, sometimes succeeding at mixing anxiety into precision and cold rage.

Trevor does not seem to evaluate his life that much, but he was kind of forced to go into that life. He likes some sides of it, but not all. Sometimes he closes his eyes and wishes he was just part of a dog day care only, a simple life without any tensions. And he knows he’s not the only one to think that way. Joe, Asher, and Anna are also normal people, not really into living on the edge. And he’s sure Jakob is the same, the only proof being that he seems skeptical of the main three most of the time.

“Alright, we have everything for dinner I think ?” James looks to the full cart and then his phone. 

Since James doesn’t look like he needs help to check the list, Jakob and Trevor talk about the biscuits, cakes, and candies they used to eat as kids, and Trevor’s eyes flash on a cookie box. One cloud out of the storm of his mind just disappears and he dares to take it to James.

“Can you buy me this ?” He asks.

James looks like the most disappointed parent ever, and Trevor is ready to put the box back but holds still. James looks at the box, then Trevor, back to the box, thinking. He’s not a bad guy after all, right? Of course, Trevor can buy that shit himself but…

“Okay, put that in the cart,” he says softly, realizing his mistake. He changes his face and tone after clearing his throat. “Anything else, you dicks? We are out of here.”

He’s gone with the cart, angrily, followed by Trevor with a small victory smile. Jakob shakes his head, Trevor told him that sometimes he can trick the older man into buying him stuff. He found himself some fancy biscuits but he’s not going to ask James for them, he’ll use his own money.

Jakob walks down the aisle to find the two at the cashier but almost bumps into a guy. He excuses himself and the guy does the same, tipping his pink cap and wishing him a good day. A little odd, but not unwelcome.

When they are done paying the groceries, James gives the car keys to Trevor and Jakob, saying he’ll buy the mattresses in the shop next to them and will ask someone to bring the shit in. He tells them to lock the car and wait. So it’s what they do. 

They talked about James, his qualities and lots of bullshit he puts them through, and boy it’s a lot of bullshit sometimes! James seems like the least mature of the crew, it’s fun at times but so stressful for the most part.

The man with the man bun comes back after a while and Trevor feels like he’s gonna puke right there. He’s sure he described the guy who almost blew his face off, but he’s also sure that the same man is laughing and standing next to James and the retailer of the shop.

“Jakob,” he manages to say as the three men are approaching, and his friend looks up from his phone. “It’s that fucking guy.”

“What ?!” Jakob almost screams, but Trevor shushes him with a trembling hand. “Hey, I saw him in the store. He wished me a good day.”

Trevor thinks about what Brett told them: the scare tactic. Maybe the guy is just here to impress, maybe that piece of shit wants to join the crew? No, that’s stupid. He lets out the breath he didn’t know he was holding when the guy walks away from James.

The car is slowly filled with boxes of mattresses but Jakob and Trevor stay still, even as James cracks jokes with the man from the shop like it’s a normal day. As soon as James is in the car, the two talks over each other loudly.

“Wow, guys! What the FUCK ?!” James is louder anyways so they calm down, and as they drive out of the parking lot, Jakob decides to talk.

“Trevor said the guy you talked with, pink cap, was the fucker from this morning.”

“What ?!” he stops, then drives again and talks with a smaller voice “ but he was so nice.”

As he says that, a car bumps into them and they all cursed. James is ready to yell but it’s that guy, of course, it is him. He drives next to them and makes a sign for James to roll down his window.

“It’s a rental car, you dick !” is the first thing James says, and well, that’s something to say to the guy who acts like a dick anyways.

“Oh yeah, I shot yours last night, I forgot,” is what the man said while holding a cigarette to his mouth.

Trevor feels like his soul is leaving his body. He can’t even trust himself to take the gun and shoot the guy in cold blood, but why is Jakob not doing anything? And why the fuck is James talking with him like it’s no big deal ?!

“So you guys are planning a little sleep over? How cute.” the guy smirk but it lacks the emotions. It’s more like a bad western now between him and James.

“Yeah, why, you wanna join? You seem a bit lonely, asshole.” Also an empty smile.

“Well not everyone has as much free times as you guys do, ” Says the pink hat man.

“Oh, that’s rich coming from a guy following us around.” James plays the sassy card now, that shit even makes him laugh.

“Well.” He smokes, lazily and tips his pink cap once again. “Have a good night.”

“What, not even a comeback? Disappointing.” Now James tries to make him reacts.

“Like I give a fuck, Nova,” is all the man says before driving away.

James doesn’t hesitate and follows the car. Of course, they are both pushing the speed limit by the second, but that’s the game, right?

“He knew we’d follow him, it’s his plan, no ?” Trevor says, almost out of breath from the nerves kicking in. He’s nervously typing the number of the dog daycare while not trying to end with his face against the window.

“Well, Trevor, like that gentleman said: Like I give a fuck.”

When James acts and talks calmly while he’s angry, he’s scary. That and his habits of destroying almost every car in his hands on making it a dangerous situation.

Trevor finally gets Brett on the phone, and the man sounds worried already but he’s also not alone, talking with a customer.

“Hey, Brett.” Trevor’s voice is small and he knows he sounds weak but fuck it.

“Hey, Trevor, what’s up? Tell me James gave up on that tent.” Small talk, no pressure

“Yeah, he gave up on that. But…Brett. We met the guy at the store.”

“Really ?” Brett breathes a curse and says goodbye to the customer.

“Brett, we are chasing him in the rental car.” He’s in a hurry, it’s a call for help.

One sharp turn and Trevor is ready to believe in God just so he has a small chance of survival. For now, his only hope is on the phone with him.

“Is he alone ?” Brett asks.

“Yeah.”

“Well, you are three but don’t kill yourself with that car. Don’t do anything I won’t do, come back as soon as you can.” Thanks Brett for being a good leader sometimes.

“I’m not sure James will…" 

"Can he hear me ?” Brett asked

“Hold on” a little manipulation on the phone and the speaker is on. “Okay, we can hear you now.”

“James, come back to the warehouse.” He’s calm, but his voice is on the edge.

“What ? No !, Brett, we can end this now! I’m going to push him out of the highway.”

“James, you’ll kill yourself if you do that. Don’t kill Trevor and Jakob with that bullshit, you don’t even know that car that well.”

“Come oooon, Brett !” He’s being a brat now.

“Listen here, you little shit !- Oh, hi Miss Custer, yeah yeah. Just a small trouble with a friend, I’m sorry-Oh sure, I’ll call Joe." 

Another damn customer. They can hear the door of the back opening and another breathy curse from the big man.

"JOE! Can you come here please, Miss Custer is here with Plumpy !” Some moves and they hear Joe talking to the lady a little far away, meaning Brett is in the big room. “Alright, James, don’t be a dick and come back, we’ll get the guy but it’ll not be with that shitty car with Trevor and Jakob, you come back here, is it clear ?”

They can almost picture Brett with his hand pinching his nose, done with everything and ready to give up. As James stays silent, Brett sighs loudly and tries one last time.

“Let’s have that sleepover and we’ll go for the kill tomorrow.”

Still, silence from James. Trevor and Jakob feel oddly trapped now because if James is really into it, they’ll all die. In a badass explosion, okay, but still die.

“Alright, for the record, I tried. Bye” is all Brett adds before he hangs up. He probably hopes his disappointment will work like it usually does with Aleks.

Nobody talks in the car, but the noise is everywhere, that rental car isn’t made for speed or anything. James is so focused that he doesn’t even look like himself. But he sharply turns on the highway, cutting off two cars to its right and takes a side road. They are done with the racing, James gave up. 

“Should have gone shopping alone,” he mumbles, angry.

Before they can even relax, another car, bigger and faster, comes behind them.

James sees it too late but he can’t do shit to avoid it anyways. The shock makes them leave the road and it’s not a good place to do that. They do not even scream, their voices dead inside their throats, but Trevor closes his eyes as James’ rental car drives over the concrete barrier and falls onto the road beneath them.

What happens is a loud crash and pieces of metal and glass going everywhere. The smoke starts and perhaps what’s left of the car will explode but the guys inside are not in a good shape.

James opens his eyes even if he doesn’t even remember closing them and feels dizzy. What was he doing? What is that car? Oh yeah, he wasn’t alone, right? He wants to turn his head to see if Trevor and Jakob are alright in the back but the sharp pain in all his head prevents him from doing it. 

The windshield broke into pieces, obviously, and James takes a while to realize the car is upside down and that the roof is against his head. He tries to move his arms but only one responds, weak and trembling. There’s blood on it, typical.

“Trevor? Jakob ?” he doesn’t even hear himself, maybe he shouted that.

He feels something on his shoulder but can’t tell what it is. There’s pressure here, a hand wanting help, maybe some reassuring touch? James blinks and tries to focus his eyes on shadows coming toward him. He hopes it’s people and not some bullshit darkness his brain his making up.

Hands are grabbing him, pulling him to the light and he feels like his head is stuck in a painful cloud. The sky is gray or maybe it’s his eyes, but the road is way too hot for him to be laying on it. 

Things seem to come back to him, slowly, and he feels nauseous as fuck. People ask him if he’s okay, no shit Sherlock, but the only thing he pays attention to are the voices of Jakob and Trevor. They are close, and maybe they are some of the shapes above him?

“James !”

Yep, Trevor is near, but the sound he makes is next to him and not above, he sounds scared. James flips his eyes open and close a few times and thinks he sees Jakob’s hair above.

“What are you…” James stops there because he has no idea of what he was trying to say anyways.

“I’m okay, bloody nose and a little headache, that’s all. Trevor will be fine.” Jakob sounds too disappointed and it doesn’t suit him, James thinks.

The following conversation between Jakob and Trevor is a mystery for James, he’s just glad they’re okay. He’s also pretty sure he’s smiling for some reason while melting on the road slowly. There’s a phone in his view at a point and Trevor appears too and then he sees nothing at all. 

He justs think that it’s good, those bastards are okay.

“Don’t close your eyes on us, you fuck, it-…”

Good.


	4. The grand finale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is in danger, nobody knows what to do, Miller has the higher ground.

Aleks comes back from the back room where he checked all the ammunition and the guns for good measure. He’s cleaning his hands, happy with himself. He starts believing the night here will be good. 

He still needs to smoke a little joint but he’s less stressed than earlier that day.

He lights his personal medicine and walks to the shop where Brett is supposed to be. And indeed the man is here, on the phone, a grave look on his face that can be from any circumstances really, even talking to someone about their dog or going to a party makes him do that face.

The leader gives short answers and Aleks smiles at that, looking at the shop and smelling the leather and dog treats. It’s a nice feeling, he likes that, he feels safe here.

“Alright, let me know.” Brett hung up and his hand strokes slowly his own face.

Aleks finishes his joint and crushes it in the cow ashtray they bought last year. He looks at Brett, waiting for a cynical joke about the call but nothing came yet.

“Who was that? Not a customer I believe,” he asks then.

“Lindsey,” It’s a small voice, something is wrong.

“Is she okay ?” Concerns.

“Oh yeah, she is,” Brett takes a long breath “But not the guys.”

Aleks blood turns cold and he wants to strangle the man suddenly because of fucking TALK, explain! He’s furious and Brett looks defeated, he fears for the worst.

“Their car went over the road on the highway and finished on the road under. They were chasing that fucking guy and there was another car behind them.” He sounds so calm about it.

“Tell me they are okay.” Aleks needs the reassurance right now.

“Jakob and Trevor are slightly injured, small cuts, bruises…”

“…James ?” He feels the tension in his own voice and hates it.

“Unconscious, a broken arm for sure, Lindsey says he’s in the examination room, she doesn’t really know if he’s going to be okay.”

Aleks stands still but his muscles are trembling anyways. He wants to find that fucking Miller and shoot him square in the face, or better: crush his skull with a baseball bat.

“What do we do? Are Lindsey and the guys safe there? Or is he going to fucking blow the whole hospital too ?” Aleks panicked at the idea

“Aleks, calm down.”

“We know nothing about that shit head! Is he really a part of the cancer crew? They are inactive for all we know !”

The Cancer Crew is a big name in the criminal world, the untamed crew going full blast and never being caught. They were going solo first then created a crew, but it went silent after a while. Sure, some reports from some areas show the signature move but nobody really knows if it was one of them or copycats. But really, the Cow Crew isn’t that big and menacing, why someone with a big name like that would even bother?

The shop is silent, Brett’s brain is on fire trying to understand what’s going on and what to do. Aleks is just shaking with cold rage, confused to the point of having a headache now.

“Like, like…Why not killing James last night? Easier you said! Trevor and me? Fucking easy.”

“Aleks,”

“Why waiting to make them crash after? What is the fucking point? It was harder! Making us scared and then doing a strike? That’s fucking stupid.”

“Aleks, I need some calm now, I have to think.”

“Yeah, fuck that! I can’t just wait for him to either finish James or like throw a fucking grenade in here, Brett !”

“AND WHAT DO YOU THINK WE CAN DO, ALEKS ?!”

Shouting isn’t the solution, Brett knows that, but he is just as stressed as Aleks and the guy needs to chill. That is at least 10 seconds of silence he just won but the look on the Russian is just resolution and rage.

“Since he seems to fucking know everything we do, I’m going to bait him.”

“What ?”

“I’ll go on a ride, and I’ll put him down.”

“That’s fucking stupid now, do you even listen to yourself ?”

“I’m not going to wait here. And you can’t fucking stop me. Well you can, but we both know you’ll regret it.” his smirk looks sick.

“Aleks, I can’t let you do that without going with you. And I will not let Joe, Asher, and Anna be alone here.”

“I don’t need you.”

Brett wants to punch him to reason but at the same time, he doesn’t know what to do. Usually, when they are against someone, there are reasons. Revenge sometimes, territory, some fight over a case, but that’s almost always clear! Here it’s like the guy is having fun just messing with them for no reason at all! It drives Brett crazy.

“Take Asher with you,” Brett commanded

“Why ? Having Trevor and Jakob truly helped James, that’s for sure.”

“Quit that shit right now.”

“Watch me.”

Defiance, ungrateful little brat. Brett really wants to go with him, because he feels like it will turn sour, but he has a responsibility with Asher, Anna, and Joe now. He’s the wall if anything really bad happens. Aleks doesn’t care right now anyways, he goes into the back room and takes guns and knives, even a brass knuckle but he is nowhere near Brett in terms of pure strength.

“What are you doing ?” Joe spotted him, asking from the other side of the room, curious.

“Going for a ride,” is all Aleks answers before walking away to the parking lot.

He doesn’t want to give the news to Joe, it’s like breaking a puppy’s heart and nobody likes to do that.

When he’s outside, he sees Brett with his arms crossed but nowhere his car. He’s letting him go, that’s good. Joe goes next to Brett, looking for answers and Brett will give them to him soon but before he has something to say to that little Russian shit.

“You better take care of your ass or I’ll kick it in hell.”

“ We are already in hell, Brett.”

What an awful thing to say for a perhaps last time. But they are a dysfunctional family after all. Asher is working next to the fence and he just frowns when Aleks’ car passes next to him. Brett asks him to close it right after, they’ll stay locked until next order.

Aleks is on his own, always the same mistakes, right?

__

The evening comes way too quickly and at the same time agonizingly slowly.

Brett is glued to the silent phone, a magnum still in his hands just in case. Joe closed the shop and is now heating meals for them in the microwave. Anna and Asher are looking the cameras. They are all miserable. They just wanted a nice time with food, air mattresses, and fun, not that stressful shit. They feel trapped now.

They are still updated on James’ state by Lindsey at least. It’s not all good for the man who’s unstable but they stay close to him, waiting since it’s his own battle now. Jakob and Trevor take their security guard role seriously and even look after Lindsey, ready to shoot at the guy if he even dares to show up at the hospital.

On the other hand, they have no traces of Aleks.

Asher wanted to follow him with the security cams like he always does but Brett told him not to. Little does he know is that Asher is still doing it on his laptop, he said nothing but he went back with the footage and found Aleks’ car near the beach. Aleks willingly abandoned his car to meet that Miller where a lot of people could see them. 

And yeah, they met.

Two cars were there, and Asher is almost sure those other guys have hired mercenaries from the area. The point being that Aleks was then cuffed and forced to go in Miller’s car. They then went outside the reach of security cams, perhaps on purpose. Perhaps Aleks is rotting in a hole right now. Asher hopes the guy has a lucky star because it’s a dark hour.

“Meal time,” Joe says with a small smile. 

Nobody really wants to eat but they still do, picking at the chewy reheated food in silence. But it’s a slow silence until the phone rings and Brett throws his plate on the table, spilling it all. 

It’s Aleks’ number

“Aleks ?!”

“ Hey, am I talking to Brett Hundley right now ?”

Brett feels uneasy already because something happened to Aleks. He’s glad he hasn’t touched his food. The voice is too calm to be anything medical related.

“Are you Miller?” Brett asked

“ Oh, come on, call me Frank. The filthy one." 

” Are you really from the cancer crew?“

” That crew isn’t a thing for a while now, get the news.“ Said Frank

Since the three others are watching intently, Brett puts the call on speaker. So they can hear the man laugh gently.

"So you probably know who is with me? Come on, say hi to your friends.”

They hear a grunt and it can only be Aleks. That Frank laughs again, but it’s like another voice, it sounds like two people.

“Told him I was gonna slice his throat if he talked, what a good boy. You should see his fucking face." 

” What do you want ?“ Brett does his best to not sound desperate.

” I told Blondie this morning that I wanted nothing. Do you not fucking talk to each other or what?“

” So you’re just calling to mess with us ?!”

“ Yeah, that’s the deal…Did Blondie has a thing for knives? Because I feel like it’s his thing. Listen to that”

There’s some noise of fabric, then the clear sound of a knife against the skin, grazing it like he’s shaving him or something. It’s sickening to hear, so loud in the speaker.

“If eyes could kill, I’d be dead. But too bad it doesn’t, right Aleksandr? Anyways.” He coughs and his voice is back to ‘normal’. “My guys are coming for you, and in…thirty minutes now I’m gonna kill Blondie. Better hurry, I sent the address to…Joe ? It takes twenty-five minutes to get here. With good traffic. No weapons” And with that, he hung up.

Brett looks up to the three and they already take out their gun. He has to decide quickly who’s going for Aleks and who will stay. They can’t get Trevor or Jakob right now anyways and it’s too late for some contacts back-up.

“Okay, Asher and Joe, you go for Aleks.”

“ We can’t fight for shit !” Asher is honest here.

“ It’ll be worst here. Trick him, I don’t care, do your best! Shoot him from afar, he’s expecting me anyways.”

Asher looks at Joe and knows it’ll be all on him, they have no choice. But he has to do it, right? He can’t just leave, right? He runs to the gate to open it and Joe follows while Brett and Anna go the opposite way, to the cold chamber, to get more weapons and why not explosives.

The two guys drive away and the silence is quickly unbearable.

The garage door is open, and so is the gate. Anna is behind the wall next to the garage door, on the right while Brett is on the left. They look at each other, nerves raw by the second.

“Okay, Anna, you hold the gun with both hands, remember ?”

She nods, for sure she still has to learn about guns but Brett taught her some good tricks. She hopes they’ll fight hands to hands because she is better with knives and rope than long range weapons.

A car arrives and slows down near the entrance. It’s time.

“All or nothing, right ?” is what she says with a smile and Brett snorts as he agrees.

Shit’s about to get down.

___

Aleks is tied up against a tree, and he feels like it happens too much. Of course, he should not have tried to talk the guy to reason, because it seemed obvious that reason was not in his vocabulary.  
At least he tried to save his honor by fighting earlier but the guy played dirty.

Like, the car ride was weird. That Frank has really good points, too close to home also. He seemed to know what could hurt Aleks on the inside, the fucker. He made him doubt about everything, the crew, the future, himself.

But really, Aleks always doubts this isn’t news. 

Still, that conversation was like a friendly thing trying to make him think and change. The Russian was confused about it all because he was truly angry that the guy tried to kill his friends (his family), but Frank spilled some truth too.

James would continue this life without Aleks, without a doubt, he’s resourceful. But Aleks without James? Sure the Russian is persistent but he was not really going anywhere before he met James. Sure he has Brett, he always had Brett, but the man was doing good by himself, he seems annoyed by Aleks most of the time lately.

Aleks hates that it’s so easy to put doubt in his head.

Then the car stopped near woods and Frank made him walk. Of course, he was cuffed and he was definitely the victim, but it was a nice walk. He needed some fresh air to calm his nerves and quiet his own thought. 

A part of him already accepted that he’d probably die there, abandoned in the wood and devoured by animals. When doubt started, the Russian facade turned to shit, he knew this. Insecure under an armor, right? What a shit show.

And Frank knew that about him, learned or found by himself but why?

He uncuffed Aleks after telling him “if you win this fight, you’ll be free”. Really ?

After saying all that shit he offered him a ticket to freedom? Just like that? Aleks hesitated, even when the man gave him a knife.

Like, what is the point? James might be dead, and if he’s not, well…They don’t even need Aleks in the crew, right? He’s lazy, always comes late at work, they complain because he takes their kill, worked solo like a dumbass, he’s just a fuckboy who loves memes, nice cars and parties.

Live for yourself, Aleksandr.

He looked down at his hands and his ring shined a bit. Hopes in its simplest form. He earned his place in the crew, he worked hard also in his own way. 

Fuck, James better not be dead.

“Are you on drugs or something ?” Was the question Frank asked him while smoking a fucking joint of all things.

Live for yourself, defend yourself, boi.

Aleks prepared his stance, secured his hand on the knife and doubts flew off his head to be just precision. In his mind, he knew it’ll be hard because he knew nothing of the fighting style of his opponent, but it was more than sure that Frank knew his.

They weren’t moving for a good minute, Frank casually finishing his smoke. Aleks was tense but the man clearly wasn’t. Full advantage on him then. Aleks could have attacked when Frank crushed the butt of the joint on the ground, but his mind told him not too. And that was a stupid thing to do.

“Alright, let’s go.”

One thing Aleks took note of immediately was that Frank was fast and strong. The Russian has a better speed, but a lack of strength. He barely stopped the first hit, having his two arms flex and keeping the ground steady while Frank’s knife went for his heart and almost got it. 

It pierced his skin but it was luckily just a scratch.

Another thing Aleks noted, was that Frank probably never went into a knife fight with someone experienced. Like, he gave a huge hit with full force, thinking Aleks would not be quick enough to stop it. 

No, a knife fight takes time, moves, technique and then you find a weak point to use against your opponent.

Frank smiled, seemingly content with Aleks abilities and waited for his strike. But the Russian waited, he wanted to know more of the filthy man’s capacities too, to make this fight even.

“Come on now, you don’t even attack back? I thought you were better than that.” A taunt.

Aleks refused to answer anything anymore, it was pointless. Frank shrugged and took a more classical stance, the good one Aleks noted.

And the dance started.

Knives were flashing with the sun slowly going down, and they were mostly standing their ground, waiting for one to try a big hit and shutting it down. Aleks felt like he was a bit more weak than Frank since the guy looked like he was on infinite stamina, but the Russian persisted.

Soon enough, Frank tried to strike his neck. Aleks barely stopped it once again, a small cut now decorating his flesh. But Aleks ignored the cut and counter-attacked. It was a blind move mostly, but he just wanted to make damage on the other man now. And he succeeded, making a cut on his arm, nothing too big but it looked painful.

Frank then stopped pretending, he kicked Aleks in the chest and made him fall. Tree’s roots went hard in Aleks’ back but he still had his arms ready to defend him. Frank kneeled, almost pinning the Russian down. That’s when Aleks realized that the man dropped his knife and was now holding a gun.

“You calm down right now, blondie. Drop the knife.”

Aleks did not move, but then Frank pressed the gun against his forehead and that made the trick. The knife went on the ground and that was it.

“You cheated,” Aleks dared.

“Hey, thought you couldn’t talk anymore. Also no, nobody said guns weren’t allowed.”

Still a cheater. Aleks went still when the gun pushed again his skull more, Frank seemed not sure of what to do with him. He probably should have killed him. Yeah probably.

“Alright, stand up,” he said, instead.

And they both did that, but Aleks did not put his hands up, fuck that. Frank then told him to sit against a tree and cuffed his hands once again before sitting next to him. He took another joint from his pocket and lighted it like nothing big was happening.

“So, you like knives? I mean, they are cool. A bit pretentious but…”

Aleks did not respond, his eyes focused on the joint for some weird reasons. Frank realized that and proposed it to him. Who the fuck is that guy?

“There’s a bit of saliva on it but, that’s all I can offer right now.”

A nod and the joint was on his lips. And god that was some grade A quality shit, or maybe he thought that because he was in a bad situation so it tasted like heaven.

“Knives ?” the filthy man insisted.

“I mean, it’s obvious,” was all Aleks responded because he truly doesn’t want to explain but he was thankful for the smoke.

“You better entertain me because I’ll kill you otherwise.” He took the joint back.

“Why did you not kill me when you could this morning, then ?” The Russian asked.

Frank shrugged again, finishing the joint and looking at the horizon between the trees. The gun was at his feet, not caring.

“To be honest, you are not nearly as bad as I thought. As a Crew.”

“ Thanks, I guess.”

“ You’re still shit. Don’t think it was a compliment.”

Well. It was honest at least. But after that Frank left, giving no explanation or anything. And Aleks listened carefully, waiting for a bit before yelling for help. But nobody came.

Hours later, after starting a friendship with a fucking squirrel, Aleks started being truly annoyed. But it’s when the man decided to come back. What a load of bullshit, really. He was eating a burger, still smoking and typing on his phone. He offered nothing to Aleks and laughed to his face when the Russian asked to pee.

Then Aleks’s phone was in the man’s hand, of course, he took it from him on the beach earlier that day. Frank told him to shut up, all nice talk gone now and he called Brett, playing with the knife along Aleks’ throat, laughing at him.

Truly, Aleks believed he’d just die after the call, the man wasn’t reliable enough to keep a promise he did not even make in the first place. But no, no bullet pierced his face nor any other part of him. The guy was just there, typing on his phone.

After a long moment, he checked the time and snapped his fingers, making Aleks jumps a bit at the sudden noise.

“Alright, I’m done. It was entertaining. Oh and, I went to the hospital to deal with your friends.”

He said that with such a tone that Aleks felt his skin crawl. Anyways the man smiled again and played with a lighter.

“Needless to say I finished my business.”

“Prove it !” was all Aleks spat with rage.

“Well, the loud shit died alone, I did nothing. But I got that blond disaster, Trevor. And for his friend, the new one I know nothing about, we’ll see.”

“ You’re fucking lying! ”

“ Maybe.”

He then let the lighter falls on the ground. It’s dry down here, it’s a fire hazard and he knows that. Aleks just watches the flames, he truly did not imagine dying like that of all things, but well…  
“I’ll kill you, I’ll get free and I’ll kill you!”

“ You can try.”

And he walked away while Aleks screamed and insulted him with English and some broken Russian for good measure. The fire started to spread, it was windy outside tonight. 

“Good weather for some BBQ.” Frank smiled, turned back and shot toward Aleks before walking away for good, slowly, enjoying the nice weather.

He crossed path with a runner going in Aleks’ direction and shot him too like he was nothing.

Then he arrived near the parking lot where he let his car. He saw Asher runs like a champ, not taking the dirt road which was too long. Asher did not see him, and Frank did not plan on stopping him anyways, he had enough of them.

But behind was Joe, and they made eye contact.

The kind man had a gun, rules are broken already. They both smiled at each other but the emotions were the opposite. Joe holds the gun up to Frank, but he doesn’t want to shoot. Frank does the same, and waits. He’s sure that if he kills the short man, it’ll destroy the crew, that man is like the mascot, he isn’t nearly as dangerous as the others, it’s even a pity.

“Is he alright ?” He’s worried but that doesn’t kill his smile.

Frank doesn’t answer, he takes his gun down and goes in his car. He’s done. The kind man did not even try to shoot. His car drives away and Joe is still holding the gun, unmoving until his phone rings in his pocket, the surprise makes him shoot a random car parked there, but nobody was in it luckily. He takes the call and runs to find Asher and Aleks.

__

Brett is running around, shirtless, and it disturbs a lot of customers, really. He’s mostly moving things to keep his mind occupied. He’s glad the Crew has some useful contacts and that Anna took care of some really annoying things. She did wonders and the police will not say shit to them, James’ rental car is paid, everything is cleaned, all is good like nothing happened.

Joe is playing with dogs, Trevor is with him, an arm in a splint and bandages around, he’s grimacing a bit at some energetic attentions from the dogs, but he’s okay. Jakob has a band-aid on the nose, which is pretty useless but he wanted to hide a bit the bruise there, he’s chilling on his phone while waiting for his hot chocolate.

Aleks is sleeping on the couch, an arm in a plaster with too many dicks drawn on it. Nobody is even trying to mess with him lately, he’s more silent. Asher watches a cartoon on his laptop, seated on the carpet next to Aleks. They both watched the thing earlier but the painkiller made the Russian fall asleep faster than expected.

Anna is looking at cats’ pictures on her phone while taking care of the BBQ on the parking lot. Brett comes sometimes but he’s mostly busy everywhere else so she accepted to do that in order to save dinner.

Linsey comes and takes her place in the parking lot. They all go toward it, except for Aleks who’s still sleeping. 

Lindsey then asks Brett to help because “I did it once, I’m not doing it again.”

And yeah, James is there, complaining about everything already. One of his arms is plastered, he has a neck brace also, and he just can’t walk or stand right now, so Brett has to hold him and put him in a wheelchair.

His loud voice makes the dogs bark and the place is just filled with noise. They are all glad the man is okay, but yeah, peace isn’t an option anymore. A voice grows louder in the back, a bit too high pitched.

“Would you shut up for one second ?!”

It’s Aleks, of course, but at least that made the dogs stop. But it’s not that easy to make James shut up.

“I almost died, you dick!" 

"I also almost die, what is your fucking point ?!” Aleks yelled back.

“Come and say that to my fucking face, you asshole !”

And it’s only the beginning of the evening. Brett lets Joe pushes James around because he’s tired of the yelling already. But at least they are okay. Everything is okay now.

Maybe it will not last long since there are some envelopes on the front desk with pink paint stick figure and a “see you next time” on them, but that’s for later. 

Tonight they are doing that sleepover, tomorrow is another day.

They survived.


End file.
